Altair
by dude.lost.my.cat
Summary: This is my first attempt at an Assassin's Creed story. It's set in the same time as the second game, and I'll be using some characters from the third game I'll put a note at the start, for those who've not played it, so I don't ruin it
1. Nothing Is True

I'll say this now, I'm not sure about the spellings here, but I've tried my hardest, if anyone notices a spelling that isn't right, please tell me, as Microsoft Word doesn't seem to have Italian in it's dictionary :( also, could some one explain the whole point of the phrase "Nothing Is True, Everything Is Permited" Cause I, quite honestly, don't understand it, and I've finished both games...

Walking through the Palazzo, Ezio wondered if his father, Giovanni, and two brothers, Petrucio and Fredrico, would have still been alive if he had told his father about the invite to stay with his uncle for a few days. All Ezio knew, was that there was no time to waste, and he immediately went to his father's study, in the hope of finding some clues as to what happened.

Upon arriving, he noticed that there was no furniture, which hadn't been either damaged, or completely destroyed. Except a painting, in a frame. In the bottom corner, a very faint signature. Ezio couldn't make out what it said, but recognised it from when he helped his mother with an errand earlier in the day.

Leonardo da Vinci's cramped workshop had the look of a disused pigsty, rather than that of an artist. Models were strewn around the space, with more drawings, and sketches of impossible ideas than actual artwork. Leonardo himself was asleep, but his door was open, and an assistant was busy cleaning a small blade, which, as Ezio entered, he quickly withdrew from sight.

"I'm here to talk to Maestro Leonardo…" Ezio said, suspiciously.

"He's asleep _idiota_, what else would he be doing at this hour?!" the assistant replied.

"I must see him, now," Ezio said, drawing his sword, "and I am more than willing to cut you down to get to him!" at this, the assistant threw down the blade he had been cleaning, and ran towards a small rack of swords.

"I wouldn't advise that, _signore_." Ezio said, lifting his sword above the assistants head, as the assistant grabbed a long, extremely sharp, sword from the rack.

"_Requiescat in Pace!_" Ezio shouted, thrusting his sword into the assistants shoulder, killing him.

"Ah, my sword is messed now, _Fiflio d'un cane!_" as Ezio wiped his sword on a clean part of the assistants clothes, Leonardo walked in from a room connecting to the workshop.

"Ezio…_Ma che cazzo?_" he said, looking at the assistant, who was, even to his un-trained eye, quite clearly dead.

"He tried to kill me, _Ser_!" Ezio said, trying to defend himself

"I don't mind, he was new, never helped when he should have. Always sneaking about, caught him in my private study earlier!" Leonardo said, sitting down.

"_Ser_, I came here not for blood, but for help…" Ezio said, pulling out a piece of codex page from he document pouch.

"What is this?"

"I don't know, I thought you might be able to help me understand it…the writing is foreign, not from Italy, I know that much…" Ezio said, handing Leonardo the page

"Where did you…wait…" Leonardo rushed to a nearby shelf, and picked up a book and brought it back to the desk.

"What is it?" Ezio inquired.

"This page is older than any books I have in my workshop, or any _biblioteca_ in Florence…Perhaps even in all of Italy…"

"So…is it valuable?" Ezio asked, imagining all the _grappa_ he could buy with the amount of _fiorini_ he was thinking he would get.

"Sadly, it's not, well, it's not, unless you can prove what it says, and I'm not too sure my…wait!" Leonardo ran his hand down the book he had gotten from the shelf. "I get it now, it's not that it's older than any books nowadays, well, it is old, but not the oldest thing around…it's the language which is it written in, the language is old…and the text it's self is encrypted…it could take some time to work out what the original text should read…probably even longer still to translate what it says so we can read it…"

"Oh, I don't have that kind of time! I must leave Florence as soon as I can!" Ezio said, pounding his hand on Leonardo's desk in frustration.

"Why, Ezio, is something wrong?" Leonardo said, while he wrote in an illegible scrawl on a sheet of paper.

"Yes…But I'm not too sure what to do, or who to trust, I'm sorry, _Ser_, but I must leave now, and may not be back soon…"

"Wait…where will you go? When I have worked out what it says, I could send a pigeon to you…or perhaps you could send someone out to return in once it is complete…" Leonardo said, staring at the page of codex

"I will be going to my Uncle's Villa…I should ask him to send someone to retrieve it once it is done…" Ezio replied

"Ok," Leonardo looked up, "It will take between three days, and a week, send someone in two days, in case it takes less time…I will look after him well, fear not."

"Thank you, Leonardo," Ezio said, "My father always told me artists were all useless, and never worked hard enough on a certain painting."

"Did he? I would have thought he would have had a better look on us…there are many aspiring artists in Florence…" Leonardo said

"I don't think he mean insult, but it does seem that Nothing Is True…I should learn to trust what I see, not what I'm told." Ezio said.

"Then it would seem you are saying I am not useless?" Leonardo said, smiling.

"Quite the opposite!" as Ezio passed Leonardo a small bag of _fiorini_ "here, for your expenses, on the man my _Zipo_ will send, I would not want you to loose money, for helping me!"

"Thank you, Ezio, Goodbye."

As Ezio turned to the door Leonardo shouted after him;

"Ezio, here!" he threw the small dagger, which the assistant had been cleaning towards him, "It seems he no longer has use for it..." as he said this, he looked towards the dead assistant, "I imagine that carpet will need to be…disposed of…"

"Sorry about that, Leonardo, and thank you…for everything"

So, that was my first attempt at an assassin's creed story…please review and I will be doing a little "dictionary" of a sort, with the Italian words and what they are in English, but I've not got the time right now, I'll keep updating the dictionary, too, when new words are used :) just so anyone who hasn't played the game, or wants to know what is being said, can know.


	2. Everything Is Permited

Arriving at his uncle's villa, Ezio dismounted his horse, and ran towards his Uncle,

"_Nipote!_ What are you doing here?" Mario asked

"_Zipo_, I have no time to explain, I must ask your help." Ezio said, struggling for breath, after running as fast as he could to his uncle.

"Let me guess, you need help, or the means, to kill someone." Mario said, walking off towards the door to the villa.

"How did you know?" Ezio said, catching his breath

"Well, the last time you came here, you needed help, why should now be any different?" Mario laughed, as he entered the villa.

"Well, it would appear, Francesco de'Pazzi did not die, when I killed him, or, thought I killed him…that…_grassone bastardo_!" Ezio shouted

"Ezio, I understand your upset, he is, after all, the man who made sure your father, my brother, and _your_ brothers, my other nephews, died…" Mario said, looking upset, "But, it has been twenty years, Ezio, we cannot dwell on the past, but we must also make sure he does not try and do the same to you, or me, for that matter…"

"How would you have it done?" Ezio asked, pleased his uncle wanted Francesco dead too.

"Quietly, no one must know he is dead, it must seem like an accident, or suicide…" Mario said, then addressed a messenger in the corner, who Ezio hadn't seen, "Ride to Florence, to Leonardo da' Vinci, retrieve the item the man is translating for this boy, and be quick about it, he is expecting you." The messenger left, and Mario opened a hidden door, "come, Ezio, we must discuss this in more privacy…"

"Uncle, did he…" Ezio began

"There is no time to talk here! Come, now, Ezio." Mario said, firmly. Once inside the hidden room, Ezio began to explain how he found out Francesco wasn't dead.

"So, you were walking between Florence and Venice, and you walked past a man who look just like him, Ezio, I must say, this isn't much to show that he is alive…I can hardly allow you to go and kill a man just because you _think_ he is Francesco, I'm sorry, I can't help."

"But uncle, allow me to finish!" Ezio said, "After I passed him, he turned to the guards he walked with, and he said 'there, that's the boy, **kill him**!'"

"I hope you didn't stand around and wait until they tried to!" Mario exclaimed

"Of course not, as soon as I thought it was Francesco de'Pazzi, I ran towards Venice, only just made it into the city before they caught up with me too" Ezio replied, "however, I fear that Francesco de'Pazzi knows I came here, so I must kill him, before he has a chance to hire enough mercenaries to over power us!"

"I understand why this could cause problems…" Mario said

"So you will help me find him?" Ezio said, standing up from the seat Mario had given him.

"No, to do so would only make him know that you are hidden with me, and if he knew that, I have no doubt he would come and kill us himself. _Mi dispiace veramente_, Ezio, truly." Mario said

"So I cannot kill him?" Ezio said, sitting back down, looking deep upset.

"I cannot help you, yet. When my scouts give me word that he is moving troops towards us, then I can openly help, until then, I cannot do anything, I am sorry." Mario said, "Atleast, I cannot openly help you, not as a leader of this small city…" Mario stood up, walked around the desk, and pulled Ezio up, "But, as your Uncle, I can." Mario finished, pulling Ezio into a hug.

"So, you will help me?" Ezio asked.

"Well, I believe Francesco de'Pazzi may be alive, as Nothing Is True, you know this, already, don't you?"  
"Better than most, uncle" Ezio replied, "But how does this help us kill Francesco de'Pazzi?"

"The fact that Nothing Is True, won't, but, because I can permit you to kill him, weather or not it is wise to do so will."

"Everything Is Permitted." Ezio said, smiling.

"this is true, governments, private guards, the templars, they all have rules, we, the Assassin's, only have three, and these do not interfere with killing anyone."

"I know the rules, uncle." Ezio sighed

"I will remind you of them anyway." Mario said, "First…"

"Stay your blade from the blood of an innocent"

"Means kill _no one_ who is not a templar, or, your target." Mario said, sternly

"I know what it means, uncle!" Ezio retorted

"you may well do, but that apprentice in Leonardo da' Vinci's workshop, needn't have died"

"He was in my way, uncle!"

"this means nothing to me! You were trained to disarm, even hurt someone so much they can do nothing, but you choose to ignore this training, and killed him!" Mario screamed at Ezio.

"I understand that I should…"

"You understand nothing, Ezio! And until you understand these tenants well, you cannot hope to kill Francesco de'Pazzi!"

"I apologise" Ezio said

"This is a start, but I must be certain you will not do this again," Mario said, calming down, "Second,"

"Do not Draw Attention to Yourself…"

"Which mean _never_ reveal yourself to your target before killing them, or to guards, after killing your target. Be unseen, blend with the crowd."  
"I know, and I never have," Ezio said, "Have I?"

"It is true, that no assassin has ever successfully killed their target, and not been seen by guards, so I will not mind if you are noticed, but, to be noticed before killing your target, makes it far harder to kill them, remember these words, Ezio! You must be a blade in a crowd, not suspicious, and not unarmed, never confront a target unprepared. The way Francesco de'Pazzi knew you were who you are, shows you are not taking enough care, always be alert, a templar could be anywhere!"

"I will." Ezio nodded

"And, the third, and most important tenant,"

"Never compromise the brotherhood"

"Which means your actions must _never_ have an affect on all the assassin's, your coming here has meant I needed to increase my guard, heavily! You broke all three tenants, at some point, Ezio, and so, I should not help you, but, I want Francesco de'Pazzi dead, as much, if not more, than you."  
"I am deeply sorry for this, uncle, _Mi dispiace veramente_ what ever you have me do, to prove I am loyal, I will do it! Be it beating you in a fight, I shall, be it killing the pope, I shall, what ever you wish, I shall do."

"Well, your enthusiasm impresses me however, breaking all the three tenants can not go un-punished…"

"Then tell me what you have me do!"  
"Ezio, I will have you track your own targets."

"What?" Ezio said, taken aback by the punishment "How is this to punish me?!"

"Simply, Ezio, you have always had others track the people you seek, now, you, and you alone, are responsible to find them."

"Very well, where would you have me start?"

"Venice, Francesco de'Pazzi undoubtedly has been searching the city, but, as it is so large, he may still be searching, this is where you must start, but be aware, if Francesco is alive, he may well have persuaded the guards in Venice to kill you for him, if he has, you must never be seen!"

"I understand, uncle, goodbye"

"Goodbye, and take care, Ezio"

Well, there was the second chapter, I'll update the Dictionary soon, but, until then, enjoy reading this!


	3. Dictionarynewest nonalphabetical

Maestro – Master

_Idiota - Idiot_

_Signore – Mr, or, Gentleman_

_Requiescat in Pace – Rest In Peace_

_Fiflio d'un cane – Son of a bitch_

_Ma che cazzo – What the fuck was that_

_Ser - Sir_

_Biblioteca – library_

Grappa– Italian alcoholic drink

_Fiorini – Florins, coins used in Florence_

_Zipo – Uncle_

_Mi dispiace veramente – I am truly sorry_

_grassone bastardo – Fat bastard_

_Nipote – Nephew_

Well, there is the dictionary, as up-to-date as it can be (when last updated…hehe)

If you think any of the words are wrong, feel free to tell me :)


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